Bumper for toilet seat or cover



Feb. 17, 1959 D. PHILLIPS BUMPER FOR TOILET SEAT OR COVER Filed Dec. 7, 1956 INVENTOR.

I HMW guy/k Q9 1 19s Da v/ 2,873,454 BUMPER FOR TOILET SEAT R COVER David Phillips, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Swedish Cruclble Steel Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application December 7, 1956, Serial No. 627,065

4 Claims. ('Cl. 4--248) This invention relates to toilet seat equipment and, in particular, to toilet seat bumpers for cushioning the shock of impact of a toilet seat with the toilet bowl or of a toilet seat cover with the toilet seat.

Hitherto, toilet seat bumpers have been of rubber secured by a tack to the wood core of the toilet seat by hammering the tack into the core or into the toilet seat itself, where the toilet seat is entirely of wood. Such bumpers, however, in the course of time become detached and drop oif, usually by reason of the corrosion of the tack as a result of the acid liquids to which it is exposed, with the result that the toilet seat or cover is left unprotected against the shock of impact either between its own components or between the toilet seat and the toilet bowl. Breakage or chipping of the toilet bowl rim also occurs occasionally when the toilet seat, unprotected by bumpers which had dropped off, is slammed down on the toilet bowl. The present invention provides a bumper which is of non-corrosive material throughout and which maintains a tenacious grip on the toilet seat or cover without the use of any metal parts whatever yet which is quickly and easily installed.

Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a toilet seat bumper which is completely free from any possibility of corrosion, by being made of materials and in a form which resists the corrosive attack damaging and detaching previous bumpers provided with metal fasteners.

Another object is to provide a toilet seat bumper which has a stem or stems integral with the cushioning noncorrosive material of the bumper and which has a construction such that it is easily inserted in a socket formed in the toilet seat or cover but resists withdrawal therefrom in such a manner as to substantially prevent detachment once the cushion is installed.

Another object is to provide a toilet seat bumper of the foregoing character wherein the stem is provided with an expanding tapered surface engaged by a split collar having an internal oppositely-tapered surface mating therewith so that when the stem assembly is inserted in a socket in the seat or cover, the slight constriction of the split collar compresses the elastic deformable material of the stem and maintains a firm grip both with the side wall of the socket and the stern, so that at tempted withdrawal of the stem brings about a wedging action which expands the split collar in such a manner as to more firmly engage it with the socket side wall with the result that the greater the force exerted on the stem in attempting to withdraw it from. the socket, the greater is the expanding effect upon the split collar and the more tightly the latter grips the socket side wall.

Another object is to provide a toilet seat bumper of the foregoing character wherein the bumper and its stern are made of soft compressible cushioning material and the split collar of a harder resilient material, so that the co-action of the stern and collar of the materials of contrasting characteritics provides a most effective gripping action on the socket side walk 2,873,454 Patented Feb. 17, 1959 Another object is to provide a toilet seat bumper of the foregoing character wherein the bumper itself is of hollow construction with integral ribs subdividing the interior into compartments and at the same time imparting strength while retaining the cushioning effect of the soft material and the air within the hollow interior of the cushion.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an enlarged central vertical section, taken along the section line 1-1 in Figure 7, through a toilet seat with an elongated two-stemmed bumper installed therein according to one form of the invention, with the bumper partly in side elevation and partly in central vertical section;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the bumper of Figure 1, before installation in the toilet seat;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the split collar used in the stem assembly of the bumper of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the split collar shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-section through a slightly modified bumper of dome-shaped form, taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the modified bumper shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a top plan view on a reduced scale of the toilet seat and lid equipped with non-detachable bumpers of the type shown in Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the toilet seat and lid of Figure 7 and the upper portion of a toilet bowl on which it is mounted.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 7 and 8 show a conventional toilet seat and lid unit, generally designated 10, mounted on a conventional toilet bowl l2 and equipped with nondetachable bumpers, generally designated 14 and 16 according to the two different forms of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 5 respectively. The toilet bowl i2 is of the usual porcelain construction and is provided with the usual rim 18 in the form of an outward1y-extending flange terminating at the rear in a rearwardly-extending platform 20. The platform 20 is bored as usual to receive the threaded shanks 22 of hinge posts 24 of oppositely-facing seat hinges, generally desig nated 26, equipped with hinge pins 28 extending into the opposite sides of the rearward extension 30 of the toilet seat 32. Hinge brackets 34 extend upward from the hinge posts 24 and are secured to the under side of the rearward extension 36 of the toilet seat lid 38 and are pivoted on the hinge pins 28. Thus, the toilet seat and lid unit 10 consists of 'separate components 32 and 38 pivotally secured to one another and to the platform 20 of the toilet bowl 12 by the hinges 26, and protected from shock of impact by the bumpers 14 and 16 respectively.

Both the seat and the lid 38 are provided on their undersides 40 and 42 respectively with sockets 44 of circular cross-section and preferably with cylindrical side walls or side surfaces 46, only the sockets 44 in the seat 32 being shown, since the sockets in the lid 38 are of similar construction. The seat 32 and lid 38 may be of Wood, but are preferably of molded plastic material which, because of its superior durability and long life, is rapidly replacing wood in toilet seats of modern manufacture.

Seated in each socket 44 of the toilet seat .32 is a stern assembly, generally designated 50, consisting of a split collar 52 mounted on a stem 54 which is integral with the body 56 of the bumper 14. The bumper body 56 and its stem 54 are preferably of a soft resilient noncorrosive material which is conveniently moldable and which has 3 a high cushioning effect, vinyl resin or synthetic plastic being found satisfactory for this purpose. Such vinyl resins of elastic deformable characteristics are available upon the open market and are known to-plastics engineers and other skilled in the plastic molding art. 7

The bumper body 56 is of hollow construction forthe purpose of increasing its resilience, having recesses 58 therein separated from one another by longitudinal and transverse partitions 60 and 62 respectively integral with the remainder of the body 56 and forming ribs which considerably strengthen the construction while maintaining the resilience of the body 56. The ribs or partitions 60 and 62 are integrally joined to the bottomwall 64 and side wall 66 respectively of the bumper body 56. Approximately cylindrical upstanding stem bases 68 are provided at opposite ends of the bottom wall 64 and are likewise connected to the side wall by integral ribs or partitions 70 (Figure 2) forming arcuate recesses 72 between the stem bases 68 and the adjacent ends of the side wall 66. The side wall 66 has an upper edge surface 74 adapted to engage the under surface 40 of the seat 32 (Figure 1).

Each stem 54 is integral with its respective base 68 and is of inverted frusto-conical shape having an upper end 76 of larger diameter than its lower end or junction 78 with its base 68, so as to provide an upwardly-flaring tapered surface 80. Engaging and coasting with the upwardly-flaring tapered outer surface 80 is the upwardlyfiaring correspondingly conical internal surface 82 of the split collar 52, which has an outer cylindrical surface 84 which is preferably of slightly larger diameter than the side wall 46 of the socket 44 in which it is to be installed. The split collar 52, as its name suggests, has a radial gap 86 running from end to end thereof. The lower end surface 88 of the collar 52 is adapted to engage the annular shoulder 90 between the stem 54 and its base 68 whereas the height of the collar 52 is less than the height of the stem 54 so that its upper end surface 92 lies slightly below the upper end surface 76 of the stem 54. The socket 44 is made of slightly greater depth to its bottom wall 94 than the distance to which the stem 54 will penetrate, the upper edge 74 of the bumper body 56 being slightly above the shoulder surface 90 between the lower end of the stem 54 and the upper end of the stem base 68 (Figure l). The upper edge surface 96 of the ribs or partitions 62 and 70, on the other hand, are spaced slightly below the upper edge surface 74 of the side wall 66 so as to be spaced slightly below the lower surface 40 of the seat 32. The split collars 52 are preferably made of a harder plastic than the bumper body 56, that type of synthetic plastic known in the plastics art by the name of polystyrene and especially so-called high impact styrene resin being preferred. 1

The modified bumper, generally designated 16, of Figures and 6 has a body 100 of approximately domeshaped construction with a bottom wall 102 from which the side walls 104 rise, radial partitions 106 extending inwardly therefrom to an upstanding central stem base 68 integral with the bottom wall 102 and forming arcuate recesses 110. The construction of the stem base 108 is similar to that of the stem base 68 and is provided with a similar stem 54 and split collar 52, similar parts being designated with the same reference numerals as in Figures 1 and 2. Because of the similarity of construction, repetition of the description is unnecessary. As before, the upper edge surface 112 lies on a level above the annular shoulder surface 90 between the stem 44 and the stem base 68. Thus, the difference between the bumper 16 of Figures 5 and 6 and the bumper 14 of Figures 1 and 2 lies in the circular shape of the body 100 as contrasted with the elongated shape of the body 56. The stem base, stem and collar construction are identical, and a socket similar to the socket 44 is formed in the lid 38 to receive the stem 54 and collar 52 of the bumper 16.

In the installation of the'bumper 14 of Figures 1 and 2,

let it be assumed that a pair of sockets 44 has been formed extending inward from the bottom surface 40 of the seat 32 corresponding in separation to the separation of the axes or centers of the stems 54. Let it also be assumed that the split collars 52 have been sprung apart to widen the gaps 86 sufficiently to permit them to be inserted over the enlarged ends 76 of the stems 54 onto the side walls or surfaces thereof. To install the bumper 14 in the seat 32, the operator pushes the stem assemblies 50 consisting of the stems 54 and split collars 52 into their respective sockets 44, constricting the collars 52 slightly as they are pushed into the smaller diameter sockets 44. This action slightly compresses the stems 54 laterally and brings the cylindrical side surfaces 84 of the split collars 52 into snug engagement with the cylindrical side surfaces 46 of the sockets 44. The bumper body 56 is pushed toward the seat 32 until its edge surface 74 engages the seat surface 40, whereupon the installation is complete, the same operation causing the annular shoulders to push the respective split collars 52 into the sockets 44. The bumper 54, when installed, has the appearance shown in Figure 1 and on a smaller scale in Figures 7 and 8.

The installation of the dome-shaped bumper 16 is similar to that described above for the installation of the elongated bumper 14 with the exception of the fact that only a single socket 44 is necessary for each bumper. The stem assembly 52 thereof is pushed, as before, into the socket 44 by pressure upon the bottom wall 102, with the same constricting action upon the split collar 52 and compression of the stem 54 described above in connection with the installation of the elongated bumper 14 of Figures 1 and 2.

In either installation, whether of the elongated bumper 14 or the dome-shaped bumper 16, attempted removal of the bumper, such as by prying with a knife blade or screw driver between the surfaces 74 or 112 and 40, pulls the tapered surfaces 84) and '82 of the stem 54 and split collar 52 relatively to one another, expanding the split collar 52 firmly into frictional engagement with the side wall surface 46 of each socket 44. The greater the pull on the bumper body 56, the greater the radial expansion of the split collar 52 and the tighter the grip effected by it upon the side wall 46 of the socket 44. Thus, each stem assembly of the bumper 14 or 16 remains firmly embedded in its socket against either accidental or intentional withdrawal. Moreover, the action of fumes or acid liquids has no effect whatever upon the bumpers 14 and 16 because they are composed entirely of plastic materials which are completely immune to such attack, with the result that the bumpers remain in position for the life thereof.

What I claim is:

1. A bumper for a toilet seat or cover having a socket therein, said bumper comprising a bumper body of resilient material having thereon an upstanding stem of Wedge-shaped form and of elastic deformable material, and an expansible member disposed on said stem in substantially encircling engagement therewith, said stem having an approximately conical external expanding surface thereon flared outwardly away from said bumper body, and said expansible member having an approximately conical internal expansible surface also flared outwardly away from said bumper body and expandingly engageable with said external expanding surface.

2. A bumper for a toilet seat or cover having a socket therein, said bumper comprising a bumper body of resilient material having thereon an upstanding stem of wedge-shaped form and of elastic deformable material, and an expansible member disposed on said stem in substantially encircling engagement therewith, said stem having an approximately conical external expanding surface thereon flared outwardly away from said bumper body, and said expansible member having an approximately conical internal expansible surface also flared outwardly away from said bumper body and expandingly engageable with said external expanding surface, said expansible member being of resilient material which is harder than the elastic deformable material of said stem.

3. A bumper for a toilet seat or cover having a socket therein, said bumper comprising a bumper body of resilient material having thereon an upstanding stem of wedge-shaped form and of elastic deformable material, and an expansible member disposed on said stem in substantially encircling engagement therewith, said stem having an approximately conical external expanding surface thereon flared outwardly away from said bumper body, and said expansible member having an approximately conical internal expansible surface also flared outwardly away from said bumper body and expandingly engageable with said external expanding surface, said expansible member having an expansion gap therein extending in a generally lengthwise direction therein.

4. A bumper for a toilet seat or cover having a socket therein, said bumper comprising a bumper body of resilient material having thereon an upstanding stem of wedge-shaped form and of elastic deformable material, and an expansible member disposed on said stern in substantially encircling engagement therewith, said stem having an approximately conical external expanding surface thereon flared outwardly away from said bumper body, and said expansible member having an approximately conical internal expansible surface also flared outwardly away from said bumper body and expandingly engageable with said external expanding surface, said expansible member having an expansion gap therein extending in a generally lengthwise direction therein, said expansible member being of resilient material which is harder than the elastic deformable material of said stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,051,508 Miller Jan. 28, 1913 2,013,488 Carrier Sept. 3, 1935 2,024,101 Kahn Dec. 10, 1935 

